A neighbor sees a man who seems to be cutting the same patch of grass for 20 minutes. She reports the activity as suspicious. When the police arrive, they discover the lawnmower operator was the lookout for his partner – a copper thief working under the house.

Matt Woodward of The Gathering , left, hosted a recent meeting of the Old Arabi Neighborhood Association. With him are OANA Board Members Katherine Lemoine, Maegan Dobson and Mike Pechon.

This anecdote was just one of several eye-opening stories presented by Charles Borchers of the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office at recent meeting of Old Arabi Neighborhood Association. Held at The Gathering on St. Claude Avenue, the meeting focused on two things – neighborhood safety and hurricane preparedness.

On hand to address that second topic was John Rahaim, the Director of Emergency Preparedness for St. Bernard Parish. In his brief, informative presentation, Rahaim reminded Arabi residents that it is already storm season.

“Usually the big storms are in August and September,” he said. “But you need to be prepared now. Have a plan in place and let people know about it.”

Rahaim also encouraged family members to make a contact with a friend or family member who lives out of state – in case cell phone towers fail during a storm. He also stressed that our protection system has never been stronger, but that depending on storm surge predictions and the size of the hurricane, an evacuation is still a real possibility.

“The storm season is still young, but you need to think of this things now,” Rahaim said.

Both guest speakers reminded the audience that awareness and cooperation are critical for everyone. Or as Borchers put it, “We know we can’t do our job without your help.”

Councilman Ray Lauga was also on hand to remind folks about the upcoming Sugar Festival taking place on September 29 and Mehle resident Harold Applewhite was recognized as the June Yard of the Month winner.

The next OANA is Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit oldarabi.com or like OANA on Facebook.